About Me

Gregg Walker is a Harlem Resident and 1997 graduate of Yale Law School who worked as an investment banker for 9 years and was the Vice President of Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions at Viacom for 3 years. Gregg served as the Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Sony from 2009 to 2016, and he launched his own private investing firm in July 2016 (www.gawalker.co). Gregg was chosen in 2010 by Crain's as one of NYC's 40 Under 40 Rising Stars (http://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/40under40/profiles/2010/gregg-walker). Gregg is a Deacon at Abyssinian Baptist Church and served as the chairman of the Board of the Harlem YMCA. He has served on the Boards of movie studio MGM and music publishing companies Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing. He is also a Board member of Harlem RBI and Derek Jeter's Turn 2 Foundation. He is a former Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a representative of the US at the 2002 Young Leaders Conference of the American Council on Germany. Gregg is also a member of many other foundations and community organizations.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Manhattan-to-NJ Tunnel Should Proceed

Though New Jersey's Governor Christie appears to be reconsidering is decision to cancel the planned $8.7 billion tunnel between Manhattan and NJ, his initial opposition to the tunnel reminds us how important elections are.

Tunnel to NJ from Manhattan

The tunnel project is a classic example of how the public sector can improve the environment, improve our quality of life, and boost the economy all at the same time. Only the public sector can make these types of investments, and cancelling such an investment after it has begun wastes resources, undermines the firms that have ramped up their operations to work on the tunnel, and leads to uncertainty about other key public works projects with a New Jersey connection.

As Governor Christie reconsiders his decision, I hope that he rethinks the benefits of the tunnel project. For NYC and for NJ, the tunnel will allow for more effective mass transit options, thereby reducing environmental pollution in our region and improving the lives of commuters. The environmental and quality of life improvements will come after the economic benefits of the thousands of jobs that will be created at a time in the economy when job creation is the missing ingredient we seek to right our proverbial ship.

Manhattan's economic, quality of life, and evironmental benefits would be cancelled by the Christie cancellation, and such a move would be shameful and unacceptable..

Let us hope that Governor Christie comes to a better decision with the benefit of time.